Summer Job
by Soter-chan
Summary: Rei finds himself going to a coffee shop, seeking refuge from the summer heat. What he was expecting was a nice little break, instead he got himself tied up with the adorable perky blond, Nagisa. Coffee Shop AU! (Rei/Nagisa fluff with some Mako/Haru)
1. Chapter 1

**I don't own ANY of these characters and enjoy! :)**

* * *

"Meh..." I rolled around in my bed as my alarm buzzed. Yawning, I slipped on my slippers to shut it off.

It was summer, but I still kept the alarm on to keep up my schedule. When school starts again, I don't want to be that one kid that's drowsy all day. Plus, I found that if I didn't set an alarm, my beauty sleep would go too far... Waking up at 4 in the afternoon is not beautiful. I was all about beauty. My room was kept clean and always smelled like flowers. Everything was, was, simply beautiful.

After rubbing my eyes to stop from falling a sleep again, I put on my red glasses and noticed a little card advertising a sale at a local store. I was in need of a new pair of shoes as well as other things, so I guessed I would go out for the day. What else was there to do? I've been studying for a week now, so a nice shopping break would be nice.

* * *

The streets were surprisingly calm and the sun was way too hot. To be honest, I was dying. Why did I walk? Taking a bus would cost some money, but it was better than striding in this horrible heat. I hated to sweat.

"Hello!"

I looked up from my feet to see green eyes and a smile greeting me.

"I know it's hot, but how would 15% off a frappuccino sound?" The boy was obviously disgruntled with the heat just as much as I was. His face was close to being drenched with sweat, and yet here he was trying to boost sales for a small coffee shop.

I've never had one, but based on the temperature, I'm positive they wouldn't be trying to sell hot coffee. Plus, sitting in a cool place for a little bit might be nice. "Sure," I took the little piece of paper he was holding out to me.

"Make sure to tell them that Makoto is ready for a break!" He chuckled and held open the door for me.

"Thank you, Makoto-san." A wave of cold air and coffee beans hit me as I entered. It smelled wonderful and it was so much better than outside.

Apparently, other people had not taken up the opportunity. It was only me and a few girls sitting at one of the tables. Poor business day I presume.

"Uh," I walked up to the empty counter. "I have a-"

"WELCOME!" A blond sprung up with the biggest smile I have ever seen. "Do you have a coupon?!" His voice was cheery and sing-songy.

"I do..." Carefully, I held out the coupon unsure of what his reaction would be. "And the boy outside, Makoto-san?"

"Yeah?" The boy took the paper.

"He would like a break."

"Oh!" He clapped. "Okay! HARU-CHAN!"

Another boy walked out of the back. "What?" He seemed rather annoyed at the cute nickname the blond had given him.

"Switch with Mako-chan, would you?!"

"Sure..." He said monotony and walked outside.

I was too engrossed in the menu to notice how the barista was watching me. His pink eyes were studying me, it almost seemed as if he was looking into my soul. When I looked back he just smiled even bigger than before. "Ready?" He sang.

Finally, I noticed the name tag on his shirt. "Yes, Nagisa-san. I would like the vanilla one."

"Vanilla Cookie Swirl?" Nagisa asked. "What size?"

"Tall?" This was my first time here and the sizes seemed confusing. I generally get my coffee somewhere else, but I couldn't pass up something to cool me down.

"Great! Name?" He grabbed a clear cup and a marker.

"Rei," I opened my wallet.

Nagisa smiled as he wrote down my name. "400 yen, please!" I handed him the money. "Thank you!" He twirled to the register.

Just then Makoto entered and went directly to the sink to wash his hands. Afterwards he wiped his forehead off with a towel and threw it with the dirty ones. Makoto grabbed my cup, read the order, and started preparing it.

"You went with my favorite!" He called out to me.

"Huh," I smiled.

"Mako-chan, I can do that!" Nagisa took over Makoto's job. "Go sit down!"

Makoto didn't refuse and sat down at the table closet to the counter. You could tell how happy he was to be off his feet and sitting in the cold air.

About a minute or so later Nagisa held out my drink. "Here you go, Rei-chan!"

"Don't call me that," Why did he add chan? I took the frappuccino regardless and noticed he had written on the cup as well. I ogled the pink sprinkles and a pink paper umbrella.

"It's summer!" He must had noticed that I was looking oddly at the decorations. "You should embrace it!"

I don't see how a little umbrella on top of some whip cream was embracing summer, but whatever. After I took a straw, I sat down with my drink at the other side of the shop. It was sweeter than I imagined but still had a strong taste from the coffee. In all honesty, it was good.

I started to take my time and picked up a few magazines from other tables. The new swimsuits coming out for men were all so boring and plain looking. You could chose from blue trunks, green trunks, or orange trunks! If you want to be bold, go for the red! How boring.

"Do you like it?!" The merry boy was sitting across from me with his smile.

"I do!" I was startled and smashed the magazine on the table. The few other costumers looked at me wondering how I could be so excited about a mere beverage.

Nagisa giggled. "I'm glad!" He just sat there, staring at me.

"Is this your summer job or...?" If he's going to sit with me I might as well start a conversation.

"It is. Haru-chan, Mako-chan, and I are trying to save up money to go to this amazing water park a couple cities over. We figured if we stay two nights in a hotel, we'll have three whole days of water fun!" Nagisa sulked over. "However, hotels are expensive and so is the water park."

"Ah," Nodding, I took a sip from my drink. "How expensive could a water park ticket be, though?"

"Expensive...This is one of those awesome water parks! You can swim, and splash in wave pools, and slide down water slides, and snorkel, and go on water themed rides!"

"So you're going to a theme park?"

"Water theme park!" He clapped. "Anyways, so do you have a summer job?"

"I might have to get one, but during the school year I worked afternoon shifts and saved my money," I said with pride. "So, right now I'm relaxing.

"I wish I could do that," Nagisa sighed. "I always spend my money on food or other things..." He looked at me. "Your glasses!"

"What?!" Did they break? Was there a spot on them? Why was he pointing them out?!

"They're cute!" Quickly he grabbed my glasses and out them on. "How do I look, Rei-chan?" He said in a deeper voice.

I blushed. "Give them back!" I ordered as I reached out for them.

"Not until you give me your opinion!" Nagisa giggled.

"Give them back, Nagisa!" The boy from earlier called out. When did he get here? Wasn't he supposed to be outside?

"Fine!" Nagisa took them off and handed them to me. "We were just having fun, Haru-chan!"

"Get back to work," Haru sighed.

"Okay!" He sprouted up. "I hope you come again, Rei-chan! This was fun!" He skipped back over to the counter.

"D-don't call me that..." I muttered under my breath. My face must have looked like a tomato, so I quickly got up and left.

But, I ran back inside, dropped a few yen in the tip jar, and ran out again. I wanted them to get to go to that water park.


	2. Chapter 2

_Why was I going, again?_ I thought to myself while standing in front of the little coffee shop. The night before I couldn't think about anything else but Nagisa's beautiful smile.

"UGH!" I pushed open the doors to see it was more crowded than before. Probably because it was earlier and less hot.

"WHAT IS TAKING SO LONG?!" A man yelled from the back of the line.

"Sorry!" The sweet familiar voice called out.

There he was, fumbling over orders. Nagisa had whip cream smeared on his apron and has most likely dropped about 10 cups of coffee just that morning. Makoto was also there, although he was less flustered. He had more patience and a good vibe about him that kept him calm. And where was the other one? Haru?

"Do you mind moving?"

Quickly, I noticed that I had been blocking the entrance for a while now and I jumped out of the way. It was him.

He walked right past me sighing, not out of annoyance, but rather the fact that he didn't really say much nor express much feeling.

"Sorry," I got a glimpse of his name tag. "Haruka-san."

"You're late!" Nagisa cried out while handing two upset costumers their coffee.

"I was making mackerel," Haruka replied and slipped into the back room.

Finally, I took my place in line. About 15 minutes later I made it to the front. The long wait wasn't because of how crowded it was, it was because it seemed these guys' skill set was not making coffee for grumpy people.

The floor was covered with coffee and syrup of all flavors. Napkins were thrown about along with cookie crumbs and various other things. If I didn't know any better, I would say toddlers were working here.

"Rei-chan!" Nagisa smiled with his sweat covered face. "Sorry for the wait!"

"No, it's fine!" I laughed. How did he remember my name? He sees so many people everyday. Maybe it was just because I came here the day before. Why did I come again? I need to stop asking so many questions.

"What will it be?"

"Uh, the vanilla-"

"Same size?"

"Yes..." Is it strange that he remembered the order exactly? _REI, STOP ASKING YOURSELF QUESTIONS!_, I yelled in my head.

This time while I was enjoying my drink, I had the pleasure of watching the three of them mess up almost every order and create chaos in the work station. It was pathetic. They were doing so good before, but I guess with the added pressure it could get messy. Slowly, I drank observing the situation as if I was watching animals in the wild. I had to admit, it was a little entertaining.

Once all the costumers were gone Makoto let out one of the biggest sighs I have ever heard and Haruka was panting from all the stress he had just put on him. Nagisa, however, was still making one last drink.

"I'm taking my break now!" He smiled and walked over to my table and set down his own frappuccino. "That was hard," Nagisa plopped in the chair and immediately starting slurping it down. "You've been here for over an hour."

"I have?" I barely even noticed the time.

"Yeah," He smacked his lips and put down the half empty cup. "All you have been doing was watching us work. I thought you would have left or at least done something. Do you have something to do?" His tone of voice was still cheery even though he was exhausted.

"I do!"

"What?"

"I needed..." An excuse. That's what you needed. "Some fresh air and I happened to walk by!" I wouldn't be surprised if my embarrassment could be seen.

"Oh!" Nagisa giggled. "I thought you were just being a stalker!" He started sipping again.

"Don't be silly!" I fake laughed. Maybe this was a stalker like thing to do.

The rest of the conversation revolved around Nagisa explaining how that would be weird, but it would be like a coffee shop meeting in a manga or something. Not that he would ever want it to play out that way, but it just reminded him of it. I still enjoyed the talk, though.

I left twenty minutes later and already starting thinking of different things I could have done. Every single one of them contained at least one idea that pointed to Nagisa eating lunch with me. 1. " I was thinking about going this great place that serves amazing squid, do you want to come?" 2. "Actually, I needed to do a little more shopping, but I don't want to do it alone. Yesterday I had one of my friends meet me there (lies) and it's no fun to shop alone. Do you want to come with me? We could get something to eat?" 3. "When's your lunch break? Do you mind if I join you?" Last but not least: "Do you have work again tomorrow? It would be nice to have lunch or hang out sometime."

But, I didn't find myself saying any of those things. All I did was sit there listening to him ramble on and then sheepishly say goodbye. Although, I did hear him mention something about having work again in that big tangle of words. So, chances were that if I went the next day, I was doomed to have another conversation with him.

* * *

There I was, again, at the coffee shop. I decided to go later to have a better chance of talking with him. I don't know why, but I just needed to talk to him. Not really knowing someone and coming everyday to their job was a little creepy, but I took my chances. Of course, he greeted me with the same great smile.


	3. Chapter 3

**WHOA THERE! I check my email and suddenly it's full of emails saying that people are following and favoriting this! Thank you all so much for reading this. Just a heads up, don't get used to the constant updates. I'm actually a very lazy person... I'll try to update it regularly and start aiming for a certain day once I get this all figured out. There's not going to be a lot of chapters, but as it goes on they'll be longer.**

**I don't own ANY of these characters and enjoy! :)**

* * *

"You need a life," Nagisa said while laughing. I know he was probably kidding, but it still hurt a little. "I mean, it's been a month now and you've been here everyday!"

"I have a life!" If you consider reading, reviewing studies, and running sometimes a life, then yes. However, my life now consisted of me coming to a coffee shop for half of my day and gawking over someone.

"Right..." He eyed me while slowly eating a cookie. "Why do you keep coming here?"

"I like the coffee."

"LIES!" Suddenly, his face was in mine. "Even I can tell that me, Haru-chan, and Mako-chan make horrible coffee! Well..." He sat back down in his seat and put his finger to his cheek. "Mako-chan's drinks taste better, so I guess his can be called decent. BUT! I ALWAYS MAKE YOUR DRINK!"

"It's just nice to talk to people sometimes!"

"You don't have any other friends besides me? Interesting..."

I frantically waved my hands. "That's not what I was saying!"

I had friends! Just not a lot... Although, Nagisa did have a point about the terrible coffee. I have only had one item on the menu, but based off people's reactions to their first sip, the coffee must be horrible. Constantly, they were mixing up orders and more costumers than should left the shop in rage. Nagisa was no good with dealing with angry costumers and Haruka would only reply with, "It's too much effort to make another one." So, Makoto took charge of dealing with costumers being he wouldn't become overly emotional but would show at least **some** emotion.

Another thing Nagisa had a point about was the fact that I kept coming here. Most days I didn't even want coffee, I just wanted to see him. It worried me that he was here everyday, though. How much work did he have to do just to go to a water park? At least he was dedicated. Pitiful at his work, but dedicated.

Later that day, I was lying on my bed, rethinking my feelings. Half of my feelings were just confusion, trying to figure out what my mind wanted. The other half, well, I didn't know how to describe it. I was 100% positive it wasn't love. Maybe 99.9% sure, but that's besides the point. Something inside me just kept calling out for Nagisa, which led me back to that cursed shop.

I couldn't possibly love anyone, right?! It would just distract me from school and sports and everything! It would mess up my schedule and I didn't want my beauty sleep to be interrupted by the fact that I couldn't sleep over my feelings. But, it was already too late for that because my sleeping schedule had already been messed up. One time, I spent a whole night starring at the ceiling trying to figure out what was going on.

After about an hour, I called a quits and decided that I wouldn't go tomorrow.

* * *

"DAMN IT!" I screamed as I stood outside the shop. Before going in, I took a deep breath and shook off all my negative feelings.

The smell was the same, but the atmosphere changed. Instead of the usual mess and poor service, everything was clean and all the costumers happy. Did I step into another universe? Then it hit me.

"Haruka-san!" I ran to the counter. "Where's Nagisa-kun?!"

"He's sick," A grumpy voice answered me.

To my left was a guy with red hair and shark-like teeth. He was taller than me and seemed to hate the idea of being here. His name tag read "Rin".

"Me and senpai are filling in his shift!" Another boy said, his voice almost as cheery as Nagisa's. Almost. His hair was gray and his name tag read "Aiichiro".

"What?" My stomach turned at the thought of him being sick. "What's wrong with him?"

Makoto saw my worry and replied softly, "It's just a little cold, he'll be back soon, Rei. He'll be okay."

"I want to see him!" Quickly, I covered my mouth. "Please, excuse my harsh tone."

"Are you his boyfriend or something?" Rin crossed his arms.

"No!" I blushed.

"Here," Haruka held out a piece of paper. "This is his address. He likes sweet foods. Get him some strawberry shortcake or something."

"Thank you!" I took it, smiling, and bowed.

* * *

"Hum..." Nagisa opened the door, half asleep. "Yeah?"

I blushed at his pink pajamas with a penguin sleeping on a moon, but who was I to judge? I had purple butterfly ones. "Uh!" Stupidly, I held out the strawberry shortcake and bowed. "I'm sorry you're sick, Nagisa-kun! And I'm sorry for coming unannounced!"

"Rei-chan!" The sleepy fog shook off instantly and he hugged me. "Thank you for coming!"

My hands were up in the air and my face red. "You shouldn't be hugging me if you're sick!"

"Ah!" He jumped back. "Sorry, Rei-chan!" Nagisa laughed and I noticed the bit of dried drool on the corner of his mouth. Gross. "How did you know where I lived?"

"Haruka-san gave me your address," I rubbed the back of my head. "I hope you don't-"

"YUM!" He snatched the cake from my hands. "My favorite! Rei-chan! You have to come inside!" There he goes again, changing the subject. It was okay, I was used to it by then.

Surprisingly, Nagisa's house was clean. Also, it had a nice scent to it. Ribbon candy. All of it just seemed so, Nagisa. Minus the clean part, but whatever. His room however was what shocked me the most. That was clean, too! Plus, I was expecting more pink being that he mentioned it was his favorite color. The lack of penguins was disheartening as well, since he was practically obsessed with that bird. But, the same sweet smell of him flew through it.

I didn't know he lived so close to me. If I had known, I would have visited him before at a better time. That's not what mattered, though. What mattered was that I was sitting on **his** bed listening to** him** describe this wild dream about a huge penguin that tried to eat me. The dream mattered, too, because it was about **me.** Me and a huge evil penguin, but who cares? Nagisa must have been thinking about me on some level.

He gasped. "Do you think it means something?!"

"I doubt it does," I smiled. "It just means you must have been thinking about me." No. No. NO. "MEAN EVIL PENGUINS!" Smooth Rei, smooth. "I meant mean evil penguins! Why would you be thinking about me!? That makes no sense whatsoever!" Laugh it out, Rei.

"No."

"Huh?!" I stopped laughing.

"It makes sense," Nagisa sat down next to me. "I was thinking about you yesterday. Well, I mean more than about the fact that you just keep coming back and ordering the same bad drink every time."

"Nagisa-kun..." I'm not going to lie, my heart was beating fast and I'm pretty sure it was noticeable.

"I was thinking that you, me, Mako-chan, and Haru-chan could do something together sometime!"

Of course. "Oh! Yeah! Sure!" I laughed hoping I didn't look like a cherry. "It would be fun to hang-"

"No!" He grabbed my shoulders. "Like a date, Rei-chan!"

DATE?! DATE?! DATE. Did he mean that?! Well, apparently he did! I felt my stomach flutter and my face almost seemed numb. Date could mean different things. For all I knew, he could have been using it to describe a function in which friends do things together. Yeah, he was using it like that. I would have been fine thinking that, but oh no! He just had to do this!

Nagisa, just make sure I knew what he meant, pecked me on the check. "When I get better, we'll have to go on a date! Promise?"

If he wasn't so sick I probably would have kissed him. That and the fact that I could barely move. "P-promise..."

"Pinky promise?!" He held up his pinky.

"Pinky," I shook my head and twisted my pinky around his.

"Yay!" Before I knew it, Nagisa was hugging me and laughing like always.


	4. Chapter 4

"I pinky promise..." I softly whispered. "I promise..."

Suddenly, my phone rang waking me up in a hurry. That night I must have fallen asleep on my phone waiting for Nagisa to call me saying he was better. I was aware that it was a cliche thing to do and that most likely he wasn't to call in the middle of the night. However, it kept me feeling happy and apparently it was a good thing. Otherwise, I don't think the ringing would have woken me up.

I flipped open my phone and muttered a "Hello..." trying not to sound as tried as I was. When a cheery voice on the other end greeted me, I threw my phone on the bed and squealed.

"Oh no!" I grabbed the phone. "Did you hear that?"

"No..." He said, although I could tell he heard me. "Are you awake?!"

"Yes, if I wasn't I wouldn't be talking to you."

"Good point!" Nagisa laughed. "I'll be there in 15 minutes! We're meeting Haru-chan and Mako-chan in town for breakfast!"

"Nagisa-kun! I-"

"See you then!" He sung and then hung up.

You can't do that to someone! My hair was a mess, I still had to brush my teeth, to change my clothes, and to shower! It was just like Nagisa to do that. Everything with him came at random in sudden bursts.

I decided there was no time to bathe, so I ran around my room comparing shirts and seeing which pants would match which shoes. Finally, I ended up with a nice light blue shirt, gray jeans, dark blue _TOMS_, and a navy vest. Since it was morning and we were walking around, I figured dressing causal was best. I had to look beautiful. I did look beautiful.

"Rei-chan~!" His voice echoed through the hallway.

"Nagisa-kun!" Quickly, I dashed out of my room and saw his pink eyes gazing up at me.

"Your door was unlocked so-"

"So you just invited yourself in?!" I took a deep breath and sighed. What else was I to expect? "Let's just go..."

"Wait!" Nagisa clapped and pointed behind me. "I wanna see your room!"

My foot hastily slid the door closed. "Nope! Nope! No."

"Please?"

"No."

"Fine!" He crossed his arms and let out a huff. "Meanie."

* * *

Haruka and Makoto were waiting, slightly irritated, in front of a little dress shop. Of course, Nagisa messed up the train schedule and so we arrived fairly late. Makoto still seemed as gentle and kind as ever, but Haruka had an emotion on his face other than boredom for the first time in forever. However, it was not the emotion I was hoping to see.

Honestly, I was a bit surprised when Nagisa mentioned meeting them for a double date. It didn't seem like they were gay, but I didn't even know I was until recently (or I've just hopped out of denial more recently).

"This is going to be a great double date!" Nagisa cheered as he grabbed my hand and pumped it up into the air.

"We are not on a date," Haruka, still annoyed, hissed at Nagisa.

"You two aren't together...?" I looked back at Makoto hoping his reaction would be a bit less deadly.

"Us?!" He laughed nervously and shoved his hands into his pockets. "What?! Nah... No! Nagisa just wanted us to tag along to get to know you a bit better."

"Okay," I still was super confused on the whole Mako-Haru deal, but for the moment I assumed that they were just friends.

* * *

The morning was delightful despite my arm being sore from Nagisa tugging me. We went to about a million stores. One was full of cool antiques and it was so beautiful, from what I can tell from the short time we were in there. Nagisa, being Nagisa, accidentally broke an old typewriter. He was trying to write his name, however it was jammed. Instead of just walking away, the little blond pressed every button there was causing the jam to get worse and a paper soaked in ink. Makoto had to soothe the clerk and I ended up paying a fee greater than any amount should be for just a typewriter jam.

After that problem, we went to a clothing store. Nagisa made me try on a thousand jackets and shirts and shoes, until he decided that I would look perfect in what was in the store across the street. I was tried of all the shopping, so I stopped him before he ran into a small toy shop, basically to force him to let us get breakfast.

Haruka's sound relief was overwhelming when he bit into a blueberry crepe. Makoto smiled at this and carefully ate his. Nagisa was scarfing down his strawberry chocolate one and sometimes stopped for a breath. No matter how many times I told him to slow his pace down, he just ignored me resulting in a crepe-free Nagisa in under five minutes. I had to personally defend mine from his massive stomach and grabby hands.

Makoto and Haruka where pretty couple-like for two people not in a relationship. They would both pick out the same things and blush putting it down or offering it to the other person. Makoto would tilt his head and chuckle when Haruka would stumble over something and Haruka would respond by quickly facing the other way. Also, I could have sworn I saw them holding hands by the end of the morning.

When it was time for me to return home, Makoto and Haruka parted ways at the train station and Nagisa rode back with me. He rested his head on my shoulder and babbled on about this cute puppy he saw in the pet shop. Once we were at my door he started to fumble with his hands and words.

"Are you okay, Nagisa-kun?"

"Y-yeah..." He looked down at his shoes. "I just..."

"Thank you," I said, smiling.

"Oh!" Nagisa lifted his head up, his mouth widen by his grin. "You're welcome! I'd like to do this again!"

"Me too," I kissed his forehead and went inside closing the door quickly behind me. Just in time, too. My whole face must had looked like I got the worst sunburn ever.

I stayed up that night trying to figure out what he was going to say to me. Why was he so nervous?


	5. Chapter 5

**OH MY GOSH. Thank you all immensely for favoriting/following this story! I was never expecting this many people to like it! Anyways, after the emotional episode 9, I think we all need a little fluff. Sorry for this chapter being so short, I'm still recovering.**

* * *

It was yet another day, smack in the middle of dreadful July. The coffee shop was oddly packed for noon, but I didn't mind considering I was busy planning how I would address Nagisa about what he said to me before. Knowing Nagisa, it couldn't have been something that serious, but I still worried. Constantly, I found myself wondering if he was okay and what he was doing.

It had been a whole week since the date. One whole week full of me obsessing over a few words. I'm aware that I'm pathetic. However! The week did not go to waste, because I had a plan of attack set out. First, Nagisa would come over and we would start our idle chit-chat like usual. As the conversation would get longer, I would causally slip in the question. If the subject just blows right over his head (like most things I say do), I'll repeat it, a bit more loud but still keeping a caring tone. This plan was perfect. How could I mess it up?

Sure enough, when his long awaited break came, Nagisa plopped in the seat in front of me and slammed his head down on the table.

"How are you doing, Rei-chan...?" His lighthearted voice was covered with exhaustion.

"I'm doing well, thank you Nagisa-kun," I smiled, shaking my head. "Do I even need to ask how you're doing?"

"Tired."

A moment of silence passed by.

"Nagisa-kun?"

"YEAH?!" Nagisa's head flew up violently with his eyes wide. "Sorry..." He yawned. "I might have fallen asleep."

"Might have?" I chuckled.

Carefully, I studied the moment, wondering if this was the time. We weren't talking that long, but I was afraid that if I didn't ask this now, then I would never ask again. "Can I ask you a question?"

His eyes blinked fast, full of curiosity. "Anything, Rei-chan."

"Remember at the end of our... date? When you stuttered and started to tell me something?"

"Yeah."

"What," I took a deep breath. "What were trying to tell me?"

"OH!" Nagisa busted out in laughter. "You had some chocolate on your face but I thought it would be rude to tell you!"

"That was it?! Really?! I spent-" I covered my mouth.

"Well, that's not all..."

"Nagisa-kun?"

"When we earn enough money, Haru-chan, Mako-chan, and me would like to take you with us!"

"To the water park?"

"Yes!" Nagisa smiled broad and shot up in the air. "We can go on all the water slides you want and eat whatever you want!" His hands were moving frantically in the air, corresponding with every word. "All day! We'll look at all the cute animals there and laugh when they splash us!"

He was adorable when talking about something that excited him. You could see his eyes light up with joy and you could relate his voice to a child who just got the latest toy they've been begging for. After every word, he gasped trying to keep up with his own pace.

"So!" He sat back down and pointed at me. "Will you come?!"

I blushed and tilted my head. "Of course! But, do you know if there are any job openings here?"


	6. Chapter 6

**Sorry this chapter is a short one too, but not as short as the last one! ****Haha, Free! Eternal Suffering is getting a little too much for me.**** Thanks again everyone who followed/favorited/left reviews on this!**

* * *

Sadly, but predictable, I ended up with the afternoon shift instead of the morning shift that Nagisa had. Despite the urge to go say hi to him this morning, I was stuck with chores from when I woke up to noon. Me being me, I was nervous for this. My old job was retail. Don't get me wrong, retail wasn't all perks. Everyday I got asked the same stupid questions and everyone seemed to think the back was more than just an empty closet. However, thanks to my great fashion sense and skills, costumers loved me. The other workers said I spent to much time in detail and did not appreciate my help with organizing the break room as well as properly teaching them how to fold shirts. But, they don't matter.

When I walked into the coffee shop I was greeted by a familiar, but not too happy face.

"Oi,Rei," Rin called out to me from behind the counter. "Come here."

Aiichiro was there as well. He was happily serving costumers their lattes and making sure he got good tips. Behind him was a man, taller than me and wider than Makoto, making various sandwiches. I couldn't get a glimpse of his name tag nor his face before Rin dragged me into the back room.

"Is this Rei?" A pale girl with a huge resemblance to Rin walked over to me.

"Yeah, can you get him an apron?"

"Sure!" She smiled and walked away with her pony tail swinging back and forth behind her.

"That's my younger sister Gou, she's the manager here."

"Oh," I said, turning to Rin. "Gou is a rather boyish name," Then I thought about it. "And Rei is a girlish name..."

"Call her Kou."

"I will, Rin-san."

Gou or Kou came back from the small closet with an apron. After I put it on, Rin showed me how to work the machines and helped me make one of each kind of the various ways to prepare coffee. There was a lot of recipes to follow, but he told me he was there to tell me everything.

Then, while making my fourth cappuccino, I saw him. The tall, muscular, and frankly scary man sighed and grabbed the cup from me. His face had a neutral expression that made him seem like a murder, but his bright blue eyes made up for it. After the explanation of what I did wrong and how to make a proper one, I read his name tag: Sousuke. He seemed nice besides his eerie vibe. Honestly, for a guy who could pass as a killer, he was pretty attractive (nothing like myself or my Nagisa-kun, but close).

Gou/Kou was out there making coffee, too. It was a slow shift, but everyone has to work at some point. She was extremely easy to understand when she gave instructions. Every word was clear and well spoken, plus her face had a cute look and not a scary one.

* * *

"So, Sousuke-san is our age and not 22?!" I asked Nagisa, completely flabbergasted, over the phone.

"Yeah," He sighed. "He's our big whale shark."

"What?"

"It's nothing," Nagisa said, obviously smiling. "Now that you're working, we'll reach our goal faster! Before, Rin-chan, Aii-chan, and Sou-chan were beating us in tips."

"Is this a race or something?"

"They share the same prize as us. Rin-chan said it would be fun to see who could get the most money before the end of July."

"The end of July?!" I yelled. "That's a week or so away!"

"I know!" Nagisa probably pumped his fist in the air. "But now that we have our beautiful butterfly Rei-chan working, we'll surely win!"

"Beautiful butterfly?" I blushed.

"Never mind," He giggled.


	7. Chapter 7

**Sorry for not posting for a while... I have no excuse. **

* * *

"This is it," Rin grinned. "We will finally figure out who won!" He busted through Haruka's front door holding a heavy sack.

The silence was deadly and all that could be heard was the money counting going on in the room over. Makoto and Haruka were counting all our tips in the room as we all waited anxiously. Nagisa was humming softly while squeezing my hand. Aiichiro, or as I later found out Nitori, was playing with his hands while Sousuke was insisting he calmed down. Although, I think Rin needed to hear that more than anyone else. His focus was solely on the door. You could practically see his ear twitch every time a coin would drop.

Then, Makoto opened the door, his usual smiling giving no hints as to who won. Haruka followed, and of course his face said nothing. Rin's sharp teeth bit his bottom lip and his fists tightened. Nagisa stopped humming and Nitori stopped fiddling with his hands. Everyone was still.

"Okay guys," Makoto's voice was low. "The winner is..."

"Us," Haruka finished. "We won."

"YES!" Nagisa jumped up. "We won, Rei-chan!" He hugged me, pushing me down to the floor.

Rin's expression was disappointed, yes, but he manged to get up and pat Haruka on the back. Nitori sighed and mumbled something about next time, however Sousuke smiled. This was unexpected, but welcomed. His smile was bright and it made me wonder why he didn't do it all the time. Sousuke simply congratulated us and left with an excuse of having to wake up early.

* * *

We were treated greatly by the losers with frozen yogurt. Nagisa took this as an invitation to clear the store of all their toppings. It was maybe three-fourths topping with the remainder being yogurt. Rin, and the employee at the time, made the expression that possibly meant the most in body language. It was a face of horror, wonder, confusion, but also a bit of disgust. Maybe the bill was the reason Sousuke bailed because Nagisa's alone was about 1,000 yen.

"Say ah~!" Nagisa sung as he took my spoon.

"I'd rather not..." I turned my face away.

"Do it or I'll eat it!" He dangled it above his mouth.

I gasped. "No-" And then the spoon was shoved in my mouth.

"Why are you so against me eating your yogurt?"

"I would prefer it if you don't use my spoon," I cleared my throat. "I don't like having other people's saliva on my things. You could have some, if you use _your_ spoon."

Nagisa giggled. "That's going to be a problem when we have our first make-out session."

"Don't say that!" I slammed my face in my hands.

Right about then was when Makoto, Haruka, and the others realized we needed a table to ourselves.


End file.
